The so-called 'creative industries' are what almost all major world cities want to be known for and base their future economy on. So, how does a city become a 'design city'? Mayors everywhere in the world are currently pondering this question. Oh Se-Hoon, the former mayor of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, who preferred landmark construction projects over welfare programs, spent 450 million dollars on a fancy, sleek new building called the Dongdaemun Design Plaza - or DDP for short.

Structured and translucent, like a Japanese paper lantern. Shibaura House by Kazuyo Sejima & Associates brightens up the Shibaura district in Minato-ku, Tokyo’s pulsating business area near the Tokyo Bay. Public and private programs interweave in this cunning, white-clad amalgamation of boxy geometric volumes and playful curves.